Pediatric education and the care of the person

Pediatric education is preeminently concerned with the care of the person--the child, the parent, and the physician. Such personalized care can no longer be taken for granted. In both its scientific and humanistic qualities, it is being threatened by nonselective cost cutting. These changes will not spare pediatric education. The public, greatly concerned about the humanistic character of today's physicians, needs to better understand that pediatric education is fully committed to being humanistically as well as scientifically responsive to the needs of the times. Pediatrics should be defined as the specialty of growth, development, and adaptation, with adaptation offering a bridge between the biomedical and the psychosocial aspects of child health. Pediatric education needs both long- and short-term views. Opportunities to explore new pediatric roles have become time limited. A national strategic plan for pediatric education is needed. Because it takes more than the residency years to become a seasoned pediatrician, academic departments have a shared responsibility with the American Academy of Pediatrics, at the national and chapter level, to jointly fashion effective and relevant continuing education experiences.